Wednesday, September 5, 2012

I've been having soul-searching conversations with my five-year-old, Mikko, lately. He'll talk about anything (and, boy, does he love to talk), but he's become interested lately in even bigger issues than whether he can have chocolate milk or why stop signs are red.

He's been noticing people who need help, such as the people selling Real Change (the homeless newspaper) outside our grocery store. I always give him a dollar to buy it, and he loves the privilege of running up and making the exchange. Due to some recent budget constraints in our family, we've gotten to talk a bit more with him about privilege, and how we're still blessed to have a roof to live under and food to eat, even if it's not always the kind and amount we want. He's been learning — through hearing and not experiencing, thankfully — that not all children have parents, that some people are sick and everybody dies, that some relationships and marriages break up, that bad people can hurt others, that natural and human-made disasters can strike.

In short, he's become aware, at this young age, about suffering. And he wants to know what he can do about it.

As I said, I'm happy that his forays out of extreme innocence have been through story rather than through living it. And while I don't want to overdramatize any concerns these new pieces of information have brought him, I also don't want to discourage his childlike inclination to help.

I was so pleased to see the trailer for this new Fox Pictures movie, Won't Back Down. Coming just after I'd watched a documentary about the U.S. public school system and how the children in our poorest neighborhoods are being, quite literally, failed, I was primed to feel energized and fighting-ready at the thought of organizing to take action.
Here's the trailer so you can see for yourself:

Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal play two determined mothers who will stop at nothing to transform their children's failing inner city school. Despite opposition from an entrenched bureaucracy, they risk everything to make a difference in the education and future of their children.

I'm passionate about my children's education, which is why we've chosen a homeschooling path. I'm also realistic that most people will not or cannot make that same choice, and I desperately want our public schools to be a safe, quality place for our nation's kids — no matter their income level — to get a solid education and be treated with respect.

I hope that Mikko continues to ask his questions — and to seek how he can engage in relieving some of the suffering he sees. I know he has a compassionate nature, and I'm sure we'll have many opportunities as he grows to stand beside him and help him fight for what he believes in.

This movie could be the catalyst for getting our family involved in helping our own local schools. I'd love to consider with my other local friends about where the needs are and how our whole families might pitch in.

SEE IT!

I'm really looking forward to seeing this film when it comes out Friday, September 28. The movie's cast is impressive. Davis and Gyllenhaal, along with costar Rosie Perez, are all Oscar Nominees, and costar Holly Hunter is an Oscar winner.

Be sure to like the Facebook page for more updates on the film, and share the link with friends. Let's be the change we want to see in the world!

WIN IT!

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Answer one of these prompts for entry: How can you be an agent of change in your community? What gives you courage?

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47
comments:

I deeply identify with this movie. I know it will bring back many memories of the struggle to get my child the education she needed in a system where some students are not adequately served. I think what gave me courage to keep "fighting" was my sense of responsibility to get her to where she needed to be and to reach her enormous potential.

would love to see this! my husband and I both got into the education field for reasons like this. plus I love Viola Davis.

How can you be an agent of change in your community? What gives you courage?I try to be an example for how I think people should live. I make ethical choices. I used to be able to teach others and get out in the community more but for now I can just take small steps and hope the amount to something in the long run. People fighting for quality education for children (both teachers and parents and other educators) give me courage. So do those who have overcome other obstacles.

We need to be informed and participate! If we want something changed, we have to take it to the right person, and keep going up the ladder, until we get that change. I get courage from my family and friends.

I've taught my almost 3-yo twin boys to say a few phrases including "It's my body, you may not hurt me; I don't like that, please stop; you hurt my feelings when you ___ (yell, antagonize, ignore, mock) me." I hope that their example of doing this will be a good example to both the children they are talking to as well as the adults that overhear. They are encouraged to say these things to me and daddy as well.

We try to stay informed and involved in politics on a local, state, and national level. In our first year in our new house, my husband and I have been on the local TV news and quoted in the newspaper several times talking about an ongoing issue with our local school board!!

How can I be an agent of change in my community? What gives me courage?

I am passionate about birth and my newest passion for my community is pushing local hospitals. They are all dropping VBAC services one by one, but I'm betting they all still use Cytotec, which is contraindicated and kills mothers and babies. I am still working up the courage and the how to, but I hope I do find a way to be an agent of change in this department. I know I have friends in the birth industry that will be willing to back me.

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Riding the rails with my husband, Crackerdog Sam, and our hobo kids, Mikko Lint Picker (born June 2007), Alrik Irontrousers (born May 2011), and one on the way (coming October 2014). Trying every day to parent intentionally and with grace.